Ryan Cherrick, co-owner of Branded Hearts Distillery, checks the hydrometer at the end of the still process. He’s waiting for the heads to start flowing out of the initial distillate so he can dump those and start collecting the hearts of their first piloncillo rum. Photo by Mike Higdon

Nevadan’s don’t waste time recovering from the Recession. Here’s 4 new places to look forward to in 2015

In the last four years Northern Nevada experienced tremendous growth in the craft beer and spirits industry with about 10 new breweries and four new distilleries starting up. In 2015, that growth continues with at least two more distilleries, breweries and a growler fill station — for now.

To help everyone keep track of the new places to look forward to, here’s a quick hit list of up and coming places to find local beer and spirits.

1. Branded Hearts Distillery

Ryan Cherrick, co-owner of Branded Hearts Distillery, checks spy glasses on the still, looking for mist and alcohol vapor as the distillate heats up in the kettle. Photo by Mike Higdon

Josh Nichols, co-owner of Branded Hearts Distillery, smells the early run off of their piloncillo rum. He detects a plant smell in the spirit that he enjoys. Photo by Mike Higdon

Branded Hearts Distillery sneakily opened on the western outskirts of Reno, making it the second distillery in Reno and sixth in Nevada. Ryan Cherrick and Josh Nichols, former Californians, started distilling piloncillo rum they will age for 6-8 weeks before bottling and selling their first product. Look out for a full story on these two guys as their release date nears.

2. Virginia City Brewery

The Virginia City Brewery & Taphouse (62 North C St, Virginia City, NV 89440) went through a full renovation before opening. It will be the fourteenth operational brewing company in Northern Nevada, right ahead of IMBĪB Custom Brews. After a long delay in the Bay Area harbor, the rest of their brewhouse finally arrived, allowing them to get started on beer production. Some of their pilot brews are on tap with guest beers now, but the main beers will be ready in the next month or so. Inside, imbibers can sit between the brew kettle and fermenters for the up-close brewery experience. Look out for a full story on the brewery once it’s fully operational.

SixFour Growlers (555 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89501) fill station opened in the middle of Reno Craft Beer Week for a beer and cupcake pairing with Batch Cupcakery. It houses 30 tap handles, mostly local, to fill pints, 32-oz half-growlers and 64-oz growlers. Anyone can track those tap handles on TapHunter. They will fill any growler as long as it has the government’s alcohol warning on it. They ordered government warning stickers to slap onto your growlers incase it’s missing (should be available by the end of the week). Check out a full story by KOLO 8.

St. James is expanding again, from the original St. James Infirmary to Brasserie St. James to The Saint. In the old building across from Recycled Records on Virginia Street they hope to open a new bar, music hall and distillery by August. It’s difficult to say if it will be the third distillery in Reno since the pot still won’t be ready until the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016. In August though, it will be a bar with a substantial wine list, Brasserie St. James beers and guest beers. It will include a sizable stage and concert area with regular shows. And it will also be where they store open fermented and barreled-aged beers from the Brasserie. Once the still gets installed, it will make gin, rye, bourbon and vodka, but the vodka will be for in-house use. Look out for ongoing coverage of this renovation project in Midtown.